I love living near Vanderbilt University. The campus is pulsing with young adults, the academics are invigorating, and the standards are exceptionally high. In the world of academia, Vanderbilt is among the best of the best, and we’re privileged to have such a university in our community.
I know that a largely “secular” university can cause some challenges for those who adhere to the tenets of evangelical faith, but I hope that you and I will not retreat from our opportunities to influence such places for good. I think of our friend, Lance Brown, and all the ways in which God uses him to shine the light of the gospel into the heart of the campus. I find this thrilling, and I’m so glad that we get to encourage Lance from time to time, and to see the fruit of his persevering commitment to Christ.
These are rough times for truth on college campuses. Like you, perhaps, I’ve followed the recent incident at Stanford Law School. Federal Appellate Judge Kyle Duncan barely made it out in one piece, having been aggressively opposed by a mob of students who did not want to hear from the accomplished judge. We’re observing the very opposite of academic freedom specifically, and the very opposite of free speech generally. It seems that politics has poisoned nearly everything, and that the American learning environment has been one of the first casualties. I won’t get into the weeds in this blog posting, but just this week some pro-life students at Yale faced an eerily similar display of hostile intolerance. And the hostility flows not just from passionate yet naive students, but from distinguished faculty who ought to know better. Where is the basic spirit of civility which many of us remember from days not that long ago?
So I’m blogging today to encourage you to shine your own light within the world of academia, or wherever your sphere of influence may take you. Some of you are teachers, but all of you are influencers. Your influence for our Lord Jesus is critically important right now. Some will not want you to speak up, and some may even try to shut you down. But do not be dismayed. Jesus has promised to give you the very words you will need – and right when you need them (Luke 12:8-12). Into the cultural chaos go you and I, wholly dependent upon the wisdom of the All-Wise. Tyrants never appreciate free speech, but the best way to preserve the liberties we have is to exercise them with gusto and grace.
And don’t ever forget: when you speak up, you give others the courage to speak up. It might be a good time for us to dust off our old copies of The Emperor’s New Clothes. Sometimes, you see, “the Emperor has no clothes.” It just takes guts to say it. You and I can’t retreat from the hard places, but we have to see the hard places as important mission posts. In my way of thinking, salt and light don’t get long vacations – and that’s what we are.
We live in a world where the truth isn’t always appreciated, but that’s to be expected. We’ve been called not to a game, but to a war. But we have so much more than our own strength upon which to rely.
I double-dog dare you to ask the Lord where He wants you to speak up. If it’s Vandy, great! But wherever it is, I can assure you that it will be a place where your voice – and your humble love – can accomplish great things. Christ will do it in you. Christ will do it through you. Christ will do it (at least in my case) in spite of you. That’s what I call marvelous grace!
O for a thousand tongues …
Pastor Charles
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